Dropper for use at night or in other low-light conditions

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to droppers that can be used at nighttime or in low-light conditions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) fromProvisional Application No. 60/721,563, filed with the United StatesPatent and Trademark Office on Sep. 27, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to droppers.

More particularly, one embodiment of the present invention is directedto a dropper with one or more of the following attributes: able to takein and dispense liquids by drops, containing a bulb for manual controlof the intake and dispensing of liquids by drops, able to provide anindication of how much liquid is in the dropper, having a coating thatilluminates in night or other low-light conditions so that the amount ofliquid in the dropper is visible, and built to meet applicable industrystandards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a dropper according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, otherobjects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures. The figures constitute a part of this specification and includeillustrative embodiments of the present invention and illustrate variousobjects and features thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein;however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the invention that may be embodied in variousforms. In addition, each of the examples given in connection with thevarious embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, andnot restrictive. Further, the figures are not necessarily to scale, somefeatures may be exaggerated to show details of particular components.Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed hereinare not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representativebasis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ thepresent invention.

A dropper is a necessity for any household containing infants and/orsmall children. This is because medicine for infants and small childrenis generally found in liquid form. Careful attention is required toinsure that a proper dose of medicine is given to each child. Sickchildren frequently need to receive some medication at nighttime. Oneexample of such a circumstance is the need to administer fever-reducingmedicine to a child with a high temperature. It is difficult toadminister the proper dosage at nighttime without turning on the lightsand risking fully waking the sick child. If the sick child is fullywoken, it becomes very difficult to coax the child back to sleep.Additionally, it is often difficult to locate the child's mouth in thedark, which can lead to spills of the medicine in the dropper if themedicine is not dispensed directly into the mouth. The invention, adropper for use in nighttime or other lowlight conditions, solves theproblem of administering the safe and correct dose of medicine withoutfully waking the sick child. One means of implementing the invention isto have a dropper containing a small LED light source in the top portionof the dropper. The LED light can be activated by depressing the bulb atthe top of the dropper. The LED light will thereby be illuminated for aset period of time, e.g. one minute, which will allow the adultadministering the dose of medicine to confirm that the proper amount ofliquid is in the dropper. The illuminated dropper will also allow theadult to locate the child's mouth easily and administer the medicinewith a minimum of fuss and spills. The dropper would contain along-lasting battery source to power the activation of the LED light.

As mentioned above, another embodiment of the present invention isdirected to a dropper with one or more of the following attributes: ableto take in and dispense liquids by drops, containing a bulb for manualcontrol of the intake and dispensing of liquids by drops, able toprovide an indication of how much liquid is in the dropper, having acoating that illuminates in night or other low-light conditions so thatthe amount of liquid in the dropper is visible, and built to meetapplicable industry standards.

In other embodiments, the dropper may have one or more of the followingattributes:

Be simple, cost effective and disposable.

Dropper may have notches on the tube filled in with luminescentmaterial.

Be capable of indoor or outdoor application.

Have solar panels for powering the LED light.

While a number of embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it is understood that these embodiments are illustrativeonly, and not restrictive, and that many modifications may becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

1. An apparatus for dispensing liquids comprising: a) a tube; b) a topportion sealably connected to said dropper; c) a light sourceincorporated within said tube and top portion; d) a power source foractivating said light source.
 2. A method for dispensing liquidscomprising: a) taking liquid into a tube by activating a top portionsealably connected to said tube; b) activating a light sourceincorporated within said tube and top portion; c) confirming that aproper amount of liquid is present in said tube; d) dispensing saidliquid.